Birth of the Bloodhold
The Bloodthrall dropped the mangled corpses behind a wall of rusted debris, its flesh still steaming from rebirth. Damon stood over the carnage, breath steady despite the iron stench thick in the air. Something had changed in him.
No—awakened.
He wasn't surviving anymore.
He was claiming.
> [Bloodcore: Stabilized – 83%]
[Bloodthrall Active: 1/5]
[Control Field Radius: 15 meters]
A low pulse resonated beneath his feet. The system's interface flickered open across his vision, and a glowing red icon blinked near his location.
> [Anchor Detected – Subway Node: Unclaimed]
[Do you wish to claim territory?]
Damon's lips curled into a grim smile.
"Let's see what this city's hiding."
He moved deeper into the tunnels. Water sloshed around his boots, stagnant and ice-cold. Graffiti scarred the walls—cult symbols, broken scripture, remnants of a rebellion long buried. His Thrall followed in silence, movements efficient, almost… reverent.
The corridor narrowed into a hexagonal shaft, barely wide enough to walk through sideways. A pale red glow lit the chamber at the end.
Stone. Tech. Blood.
The node was embedded into the floor like a heart removed from a god and forced to keep beating. Red circuitry pulsed in lazy intervals, surrounded by bone-carved metal.
> [Touch Node to Begin Claiming Process]
[WARNING: Unclaimed Anchors May Attract Hostile Sentients]
Damon stepped forward and slammed his palm into the interface.
The chamber groaned.
> [Claiming Anchor... 17%... 54%...]
[Establishing Bloodhold – Please Name Your Territory]
"The Hollow Spire," Damon said, his voice low, decisive.
> [Bloodhold: Hollow Spire – Rank: Minor]
[Zone Effects Unlocked: Passive Regeneration, Detection Field +15m, Thrall Efficiency +5%]
[Throne Interface Lv.1: Online]
A wave of force rolled outward from the node, pushing water away and flaring crimson light against the walls. Sigils burned into the ceiling—his mark now, etched into the bones of the earth.
He staggered as the power hit him.
It wasn't pain.
It was coronation.
The air shifted. Denser. Expectant.
A stone altar rose from the platform near the node, twisted and half-organic, shaped like a throne missing its backrest. It throbbed faintly with pulsing veins.
But before Damon could step forward, a ripple carved through the silence.
A scream.
Not human.
The Thrall growled.
> [Threat Detected – 41 Meters: Rapid Movement]
[Aberrant Bloodspawn Identified: Rendspawn – Tier 2]
[System Suggestion: Prepare for Immediate Hostile Engagement]
"Set trap glyphs," Damon barked.
> [Deploying Basic Sigils: Bleed, Bind, Slow]
Red circles lit up the ground at the tunnel entrance, flickering with malice. Damon rolled his shoulders and activated his vision enhancements.
> [Skill Activated – Predator's Gaze Lv.1]
[Visual Tracking: Enhanced. Reflex Threshold +15%]
Then it came.
A blur of meat and bone and screaming veins burst from the corridor. It had too many joints, a head like a sawblade, and a dozen tongues twitching in blood-hungry spasms.
The Rendspawn hit the first glyph.
Chains of red light wrapped its front legs, binding it. The second glyph slowed its advance as black mist leeched its strength. The third flared with a screech of metal, slicing into its underbelly.
But it kept moving.
The Thrall surged forward.
Steel met sinew.
The Bloodthrall's blade-arm pierced the creature's side. But the Rendspawn didn't even flinch—it caught the blade with its ribs and crushed the Thrall in one violent spasm.
> [Bloodthrall Destroyed – Control Slot Freed]
Damon didn't blink. He moved.
> [Skill Activated – Crimson Surge Lv.1]
[Skill Activated – Bloodlash Lv.1]
Tendrils exploded from his wrists like liquid whips, blood-black and razor-tipped. He ducked under the beast's lunge, sidestepped, and lashed out.
One tendril coiled its throat. The other caught its rear leg.
> [Command: Rip]
Damon pulled.
The leg tore free with a wet pop. Arterial blood sprayed across his face, hot and steaming.
The Rendspawn shrieked—jaw unhinging, tongues flailing.
Damon lunged forward, driving his elbow into its midsection with enough force to snap its spine.
> [New Skill Unlocked – Bloodcoil Lv.1: Grapple and crush targets with spiked tendrils.]
The beast staggered back. But it wasn't dead.
Not yet.
It struck—one desperate claw slash across Damon's chest. Sparks flew. Blood followed.
> [Health -24]
[Passive Healing Engaged – +4 HP/sec]
Damon grit his teeth and drove his heel into the Rendspawn's chest. Bones cracked. He stepped forward, blood hissing from his skin, wrapping him like armor.
> [System Surge – Blood Pressure Exceeding Limits]
He didn't care.
"You bleed," he whispered, "so you die."
He slammed both fists down on its head.
Once. Twice. Crack.
The Rendspawn collapsed, twitching.
Damon grabbed its skull in one hand and whispered:
"Obey."
> [Blood Pact – Active]
The body shuddered. Then it rose—eyes now red, spine twisted upright, limbs folding into a shape almost human.
> [Bloodthrall Created – Tier-2 Variant: Rendbound]
[Traits: Frenzy Resistance, Regeneration Boost, Bone Blades]
"What... do you require, my Sovereign?" the thing rasped.
"Guard the Spire," Damon said, eyes still burning. "No one enters without bleeding."
> [New Skill Unlocked – Sovereign's Command Lv.1: Issue complex orders to multiple Thralls within control field.]
The altar behind him pulsed, now fully awake.
He turned.
> [Throne Interface Online – Construct Bloodborne Altar?]
[Cost: 1 Bloodshard or 100 Blood Energy Units]
[Benefit: Increases Thrall Limit, Unlocks Crafting + Resource Harvesting, Adds Aura: Dread]
"Do it."
He walked forward and placed his hand on the stone.
Blood flowed from his palm into the altar. It drank it eagerly.
> [Constructing Altar... Complete]
[Bloodhold Upgraded – Rank: Stable]
[Thrall Limit Increased: 1 → 3]
[Passive Aura: Dread – Weak-willed enemies suffer Accuracy -10% within Hold]
Then—another pulse.
An alert this time.
> [Elder Sect Response Unit Detected – Class: Purifiers]
Estimated Arrival: 02:07:49
Classification: Tier-3 Kill Squad
Damon exhaled, almost laughing.
"They do not waste time."
> "They're afraid," came Lilith's voice, smooth and low in the back of his mind. "You chose the throne, and now the world shakes to make room for it."
Damon stared at the altar, then the glowing sigils in the stone, then the twitching corpse-turned-servant behind him.
He had a kingdom now.
It was not much. But it bled for him.
And that was enough.